Nothing is permanent. Everything is subject to change. Being is always becoming.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.

The way is basically perfect. It is not a matter of practice or enlightenment.

The purpose of meditation is not to create a new state of mind, but to recognize what is already present.

The only things that are truly mine are my actions and their results.

What Zen wants us to do is to acquire an entirely new point of view whereby to look into the mysteries of life and the secrets of nature.

When we see the nature of the mind, we see that we are not our thoughts.

The goal of meditation is not to reach some highest place, but to remain in the place where you already are.

Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.

Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.

Do not mistake understanding for realization, and do not mistake realization for liberation.

When mindfulness is weak, defilements are strong; when mindfulness is strong, defilements are weak.

The instant you speak about a thing, you miss the mark.

The practice of mindfulness is simple: whatever you experience, you observe and note it.

The heart of the path is quite simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are.

Don't think that only sitting with the eyes closed is practice. If you do think this way, then quickly change your thinking.

When we recognize that our thoughts are just thoughts, we can choose whether or not to follow them.

The dharma is not outside of you. Looking for it elsewhere is like placing a Buddha on your head while searching for him everywhere else.

We don't set out to save the world; we set out to wonder how other people are doing and to reflect on how our actions affect other people's hearts.

Better to have one moment of genuine meditation than to perform religious activities for a thousand years.

To understand everything is to forgive everything.

The practice of ethics is not about following rules but about developing inner purity and freedom.

The biggest prison is the one we build in our own mind.

Self-awareness is the key to freedom. The more we understand ourselves, the more we understand how to be free.

In the spring, hundreds of flowers; in autumn, a harvest moon; in the summer, a refreshing breeze; in winter, snow will accompany you. If useless things do not hang in your mind, any season is a good season for you.

Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions.

The nature of life is change. The nature of change is painful. The nature of pain is temporary.

The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.

The idea of Zen is to catch life as it flows. There is nothing extraordinary or mysterious about Zen. I raise my hand; I take a book from the other side of the desk; I hear the boys playing ball outside my window; I see the clouds blown away beyond the neighboring wood: all these I do in Zen.

Our emotions are like waves in the ocean. We can't stop the waves, but we can learn to surf.

The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.

When we look directly at our thoughts, they dissolve like bubbles in water.